Best Coinbase Alternative UK – Cheapest Alternatives Revealed

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Coinbase Alternatives Fees Comparison

If you’re looking for a Coinbase alternative, chances are you are looking for a cheaper exchange. As such, let’s take a look at a comparison table to see which one offers the best bang for your buck.

As you can see from the convenient comparison table, if you’re interested in buying cryptocurrencies in the UK using a debit or credit card, e-wallet like PayPal, Neteller or Skill, or even a bank transfer – eToro is overall the best Coinbase alternative UK. Other than the market-leading spreads, investing in cryptocurrencies on eToro means you won’t have to pay a penny in commissions.

How to Choose the Best Coinbase Alternative UK

With so many Coinbase alternatives to choose from, you’ll need to establish what your trading needs and goals are to help you choose the best alternative to Coinbase in 2021.

Fees

Perhaps one of the most important metrics, trading and non-trading fees are something you need to be aware of when choosing the right Coinbase alternative to suit your needs. With Coinbase being one of the most costly crypto exchanges out there, here are some of the main fees you need to keep in mind:

• Deposit fees – the majority of UK crypto exchanges offer no deposit fees when using bank transfers. Nevertheless, credit and debit card deposits can be expensive. For example, Coinbase charges a hefty 3.99% debit/credit card deposit fee, while Binance and CoinCorner charge 2% and 2.5% respectively. On the flip side, eToro supports no deposit fees for USD transactions, but there is a small 0.5% conversion fee if you deposit in any other fiat currency.
• Trading commissions – Buying and selling cryptocurrencies online goes hand in hand with commissions and market spreads. While eToro does not charge commissions for cryptocurrency trading it does charge the bid/ask spread which for Bitcoin is typically 0.75%. Coinbase, on the other hand, charges a 1.49% commission per side, meaning that you’ll pay 1.49% when you open a position and again when you close the trade.

Compare and contrast – eToro vs Coinbase

To put things into perspective, let’s compare a £1,000 debit card purchase of Bitcoin on Coinbase and the best alternative to Coinbase UK – eToro.

• With Coinbase, you’ll pay 3.99% to purchase Bitcoin using a debit card.
• Investing £1,000 will therefore incur a fee of £39.90
• Selling your Bitcoin assets on Coinbase would cost you a 1.49% sell order trading fee.
• This 1.49% trading fee translates to £14.90

In total, buying and selling £1,000 worth of BTC on Coinbase would cost you £54.90.

Now let’s do the same with eToro.

• At eToro the only account base currency is USD, meaning that any non-US Dollar deposits incur a conversion fee of 0.5%.
• So, if you deposit 1,000 GBP that’s a conversion fee of £5.
• When you buy Bitcoin on eToro you don’t pay any commission but you do have to pay a typical spread of 0.75%.
• This means that the cost of buying $1,000 of Bitcoin on eToro would cost you just $7.50

Regulation and Safety

When it comes to Coinbase alternatives there are a few crypto exchanges and online brokers that are fully regulated by financial authorities including the FCA such as Kraken and eToro. While Coinbase is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and operates as an independently capitalized entity, Coinbase Trust Company, LLC, you may still want to find an alternative based on fees and what is on offer.

When you open an account with eToro you will be able to rest assured that your funds are protected by top-tier financial institutions. While many traders are flocking to Google for alternatives to Coinbase, it’s worth mentioning that Coinbase is listed on the NASDAQ exchange (NASDAQ: COIN) and at the time of writing has a market cap of $54.46 billion.

Coinbase alternative UK – Payment options

The top Coinbase alternatives offer a wide range of payment options at market-leading costs. Debit cards and e-wallets like PayPal are perhaps the best payment methods to consider as they are typically processed instantly.

Nevertheless, many alternatives to Coinbase UK only support deposits using a bank transfer or with cryptocurrencies. This could be an issue, especially for beginners who perhaps do not have any crypto assets and are looking to get started in the market. With that said, you should check to see what the supported payment methods are, whether there are withdrawal fees and deposit fees.

Coinbase alternative – Supported Cryptocurrencies

With Bitcoin being the largest cryptocurrency on the market most beginners fall into the habit of only focusing their attention on this decentralized digital currency. But with a current market price of $45,722.80, buying one BTC is an investment that most beginners cannot afford. Be that as it may, there are thousands of other cryptocurrencies, referred to as altcoins, that are much cheaper, are built on the Ethereum blockchain, and offer greater scalability and security.

All in all, most market analysts and expert investors recommend that you diversify your crypto portfolio as much as possible to avoid huge potential losses as a result of immense market volatility. Therefore, it’s ideal to choose a Coinbase alternative that provides access to a variety of products and markets.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

For example, eToro offers access to 30 different cryptocurrencies, as well as 63 crypto-to-fiat pairs, and 14 crypto crosses. Furthermore, you can also copy the trades of other expert crypto traders by using eToro’s in-house developed CopyTrader and CopyPortfolio features.

Alternative to Coinbase UK – Crypto Wallet Security and Storage

When you purchase cryptocurrencies online, you are typically given a couple of options in terms of where you can store your digital assets.

1. Firstly, you could leave your crypto assets on the exchange until you decide to sell. However, this is not recommended as most crypto exchanges are unregulated and regularly fall victim to hackers.
2. Secondly, you could withdraw your digital currencies to a private cold or hot wallet. But crypto wallets can be complicated if you’re completely new to crypto trading.

With crypto storage being a rather complex topic, many new users are reluctant to enter the market. With that in mind, our trusted Coinbase alternative eToro offers an effective solution.

eToro Money crypto wallet

Once you buy your crypto assets you can store them either on the regulated platform or on the eToro Money crypto wallet. This highly secure hot wallet is a user-friendly, multi-crypto wallet that allows you to easily buy, store, receive, and transfer more than 120 digital currencies, as well as change any of more than 500 pairs.

The eToro Money crypto wallet is also available as a mobile app that’s compatible with iOS and Android devices meaning you can download it to your Apple or Android mobile device and manage your cryptocurrencies anywhere, anytime at your convenience. There are also several security features including an unlosable private key, a completely private on-chain address, multi-signature facilities, DDoS protection, and standardisation protocols. According to the eToro website, the eToro Money crypto wallet is also regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

Alternatives to Coinbase – Automated Crypto Trading and Investing

Coinbase is more of an execution-only exchange when it comes to automated Bitcoin trading. In other words, you will be required to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on a do-it-yourself basis.

This can be difficult if you have little to no crypto trading experience, as the crypto market is highly speculative and volatile at the best of times. If you’re looking for the best Coinbase alternative you’ll be pleased to learn that most of the ones featured in this guide offer some type of automated crypto trading service.

As we’ve already discussed, eToro offers a crypto CopyPortfolio that is heavily weighted with a range of cryptocurrencies. This means that you’ll be buying a prebuilt diversified portfolio created by an experienced trader on eToro. Furthermore, the eToro team will manage your CopyPortfolio and rebalance it on your behalf based on your risk tolerance and time horizon.

Getting Started with the Best Coinbase Alternative UK

Once you’ve selected your preferred Coinbase alternative, you’ll need to register an account. By opting for our top-rated Coinbase alternative – eToro, you’ll be able to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a matter of minutes from the comfort of your home.

Follow these simple steps to get started with eToro right now.

Step 1: Open a Live Trading Account with eToro

To get the ball rolling, simply head over to the official eToro website and click on ‘Join Now’. As eToro is authorized and regulated by multiple top-tier financial institutions including the UK’s FCA, you will need to enter your name, email address and phone number, as well as choose a username and password for your account.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Once you click on the button marked ‘Create Account’ you’ll have to provide the following details:

• Full Name
• UK Address
• Date of Birth
• UK Mobile Number
• National Insurance Number
• Email Address

eToro will then send you a verification code via SMS to your mobile phone. You’ll need to enter this code to complete the registration process.

Step 2: Upload ID to Verify your Live Trading Account

The KYC process is another regulation that eToro complies with. The Know Your Customer process is designed to combat identity theft and money laundering practices. Simply put, eToro will require you to upload a couple of documents.

These include:

• Proof of identity – This can be in the form of a valid passport or driving licence
• Proof of address – This can be in the form of a recent utility bill or bank statement

Step 3: Deposit Funds

The initial minimum deposit is just $50 and you can invest in cryptocurrencies on eToro with as little as $25. Depositing funds into your account is fully digital and easy as you have many payment methods available at your fingertips. These include debit or credit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets such as PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, and more.

Step 4: Search for your preferred cryptocurrency

You can either browse through the supported cryptocurrencies on the eToro platform by clicking on the ‘Trade Markets’ tab in the navigation bar. Alternatively, you could search for your preferred crypto by using the search bar at the top of the trading dashboard.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Step 5: Buy cryptos with the click of a button

To buy a particular cryptocurrency simply click on ‘Trade’ next to the relevant result. You will then be presented with an order box like the image below.

From here you can specify your investment amount which has to be a minimum of $25.

Finally, tap on the ‘Open Trade’ button to execute your cryptocurrency trade instantly.

Best Coinbase Alternative – Expert Verdict

Coinbase is one of the most expensive cryptocurrency exchanges out there, with a trading commission of 1.49% to buy and sell cryptos, to a 3.99% fee when depositing funds using a debit card. For this reason, many beginner traders are looking for a Coinbase alternative that keeps fees to a minimum.

As such, this guide has reviewed some of the best Coinbase alternatives to use right now. We recommend eToro as the social trading platform allows you to trade cryptocurrencies with 0% commissions and tight market spreads from just 0.75%. eToro is also regulated by the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC and allows you to use user-friendly copy trading tools to trade cryptos passively with the click of a button.

To get started with a trusted crypto broker right now, click on the link below and open an eToro account today!

eToro – Best Coinbase Alternative UK

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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